Flint Expatriates

[LA Dave]

I just visited one of the saddest websites I have ever seen concerning the Wolverine state -- www.flintexpats.com. This is a site run by an ex-Flint guy, now living in San Francisco, that collects memories of his native city from other folks who no longer live in Flint.

Reading accounts of a once vibrant city, now largely abandoned and crime-ridden, will make you want to fight to make sure that our home town -- my home town -- doesn't end up in the same place.

When I was a kid, there was a big competition between Flint and GR for the "Second City" designation in Michigan. The two cities were founded at almost exactly the same time, and both were key timber towns. Flint, of course, had the car plants and tremendous growth from the 1920s through and after World War II. GR had to struggle more because its economic base was more diversified, and the furniture industry left town in the 1920s. In the 1960 census, Flint actually passed Grand Rapids to become Michigan's second largest city, only to lose that the next year when GR annexed areas on the North and West sides.

Take a gander over there -- it is very well run and the posts are touching -- and think about why Flint is where it is and Grand Rapids is where it is.

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im from just east of flint. flint isnt as bad as its perceived.

[Rhino6885]

Reading accounts of a once vibrant city, now largely abandoned and crime-ridden, will make you want to fight to make sure that our home town -- my home town -- doesn't end up in the same place.

[Rhino6885]

im from just east of flint. flint isnt as bad as its perceived.

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i recognize the 3 story brown apartment building.. thats right off lapeer road by the IMA arena, or perani arena and event centre as it is now.

i do think its sad that the tallest building in the city, genesee towers, has been abandoned since 1996 and is going to demo-ed soon.

[jas49503]

having just spent 5 years in flint (grand blanc, actually) I think it may be worse off than people realize. the downtown has made a little comeback, but what supported it for a long time were commuters to metro detroit. homes were cheaper there and people could get a lot more for thier dollar if they were willing to commute. when gas hit 4 dollars a gallon that stopped. about the same time delphi declared bankruptcy. so the last few remaining jobs outside government or healthcare left. My wife did a project when she was working on her landscape architechture degree where she obtained a map that showed the abandoned homes around hurley hospital. literally half maybe more were abandoned. waking around the neighborhood it looked like it was being reclaimed by nature.

here are some photos for your enjoyment.

this one made me laugh. and you though that granholm was bad. just wait until you get a convicted felon as governor.

just tell us how you really feel. this unfortunately is not an unusual sight.

somebody apparently lives in this home according to the flint section of urban planet. the human sacrifice warnings were to get people to leave him(i'm assuming it's a him) alone.

It really is sad because you can tell that flint used to be beautiful city before it turned south. I was told by a long time resident that it had the 3rd highest per capita income in the country in 1980. I don't know if that is true but It is believable based on what is there now.